Despite many new advancements in mobile retail technology, Canadians haven’t fully embraced e-shopping on-the-go just yet, a new IDC Canada study has found.

Though almost half (44 per cent) of Canadians surveyed now usesmartphones, “few Canadians are relying on mobile for their daily(retail) transactions,” IDC said in a news release Monday on its latestreport called Revitalizing Retail in Canada Through MobileInnovation. The study was done in conjunction withthe RetailCouncil of Canada.

But 75 per cent of Canadians have tried making purchases using theirphone at least once, which suggests consumers in this countryare slowly moving toward wider adoption of mobile buying, IDC said. “The incorporation of mobile devices in the consumer sphere, thoughinevitable, is still in its early days,” IDC said.

IDC predicts that tablet and smartphone use in Canada will surpasslaptop and desktop use combined by 2015, a trend that IDC says willfurther fuel the popularity of mobile shopping.

As consumers get more comfortable with mobile buying and startdemanding that functionality from retailers, companies will be forcedto get on board too.

“Despite the challenges, retailers today have little choice but toembrace and overcome the various hurdles to mobile implementation,” IDCadded.

The report by Krista Napier, senior analyst andtracker team lead formobility at IDC Canada, also highlights some of the most recentdevelopments in Canada’s mobile retail landscape:

-in March PayPal announced PayPal Here, a mobile paymentssolutionallowing small businesses to accept payments via a free app and anencrypted card reader that turns a smartphone into a mobile payment tool

-earlier this month Well.ca of Toronto teamed up with Procter &Gamble to set up a virtual store on thewall of a downtown office andretail complex where buyers can shop for products illustrated on thewall by scanning QR codeswith their phones